Sever dry facial skin can actually be caused by the products designed to combat it.

Dry facial skin is a problem suffered by a surprising number of people. Some estimates are that over 30 million people in the US can be suffering from dry skin.

Severe dry skin problems can be extremely irritating as well as serious to your health. For instance if you have problems with skin cracking or bleeding then you should consult a doctor immediately as this can lead to the entry of infection.

Other problems caused by extremely dry skin can include rashes and itching and in some cases it can become painful.

And there are recognized skin conditions, including eczema and psoriasis, which can cause dry facial skin and which should be treated by a doctor or dermatologist.

Women suffering from dry skin can spend large amounts of money on all sorts of skincare products such as facial scrubs or face masks or deep moisturizing treatments, unaware that in many cases the skin treatment can actually be the cause of the problem.

Yes you did hear us correctly there. Many skin care products and beauty products commonly in use today contain ingredients which can actually cause dry skin problems. This includes many moisturizers, cleansers and other facial creams commonly in use by millions of women in our country.

The skin of the face, like elsewhere, is very sensitive, and many personal and beauty products such as many mainstream cosmetics and skin care products, soaps, shampoos and more, contain ingredients which can contribute to extremely dry facial skin.

We’ll give you an example. There are oils in many of these products which are petrochemical-based. In other words they come from crude oil. Mineral oil is a good example of such an ingredient.

Have a look at some of the bottles of cosmetics and skin care products that you use now and see if you can find mineral oil listed on the label as an ingredient. (It can also be called paraffin oil or paraffin wax or petrolatum as well as some other names).

Baby oil is pure mineral oil.

If you search mineral oil at the Cosmetic Safety Database you will find that it is a skin irritant. And if you look at a Material Safety Data Sheet for mineral oil you will find that it is recommended that if you get mineral oil on your skin you should spend at least 15 minutes washing it off.

This is only one of the chemical and petrochemical ingredients commonly used in many big name cosmetics, skin care products and other personal products. Many other ingredients can cause skin problems such as dry facial skin as well as other health problems. These ingredients are used because they are extremely cheap. Mineral oil costs almost nothing. For more information on these ingredients read some more on our site.

The good news is that there are some outstanding natural moisturizers available. Natural fruits such as olives, macadamia nuts and more are all known to have oils with outstanding moisturizing properties which will not cause dry skin, will not clog the pores and which will moisturize very effectively.

High quality natural skin care products formulated with ingredients such as these are highly effective at combating dry facial skin, as well as oily skin, and utilize ingredients which are entirely safe and non-irritant.

There is one other point that we can make for anyone suffering from dry skin on the face. One of the single best things you can do for your skin is to increase your intake of  essential fatty acids by taking high quality fish oil supplements. Whilst there is much publicity about the benefits of Omega 3 essential fatty acids to our health it is also important to understand that increasing your intake of the Omega3 fats found in fish oil is extremely beneficial to your skin and helps combat dry skin as well.

So if you suffer from dry skin one of the first things you should do is to look at the cosmetics and skin care products that you use and determine whether it’s time for you to change to a brand of natural skin care products and natural cosmetics that don’t contain harmful ingredients. Read the rest of this entry

Exactly what is sensitive skin, what causes it and what sensitive skin care products work?

There are many people searching for anti aging products for sensitive skin. Today would like to look at the issue of sensitive skin care and consider why there are, on the market, a whole range of sensitive skin products.

Sensitive skin care can be a real problem for people with specific skin conditions. There are a range of skin conditions which should be treated by a dermatologist. Whether these skin conditions are a product of “sensitive skin” or not is up for debate however it’s quite clear that there are many skin conditions requiring professional care. We do not consider these here, this is a matter for dermatology websites.

However there are many people who have no specific skin health problem but who still have what they call sensitive skin. There is no formal definition of what sensitive skin is, but it is fair to say that it is as much an irritant or allergic reaction in the skin. Often it results in skin redness, dryness and itchiness and skin flaking.

The most common cause of sensitive skin is an allergic reaction to ingredients in skin care products. It is sad to say but many ingredients in skin care products can actually cause skin problems. It is now becoming well known that many big brand skin care products (and others) can contain ingredients which can be both harmful to your skin as well as dangerous to your health.

Some ingredients in skin care products, (as well as other personal and beauty care products such as cosmetics, soaps, deodorants and shampoos and more) are even “known to cause cancer”.

This problem is now so bad that there are entire organizations set up to combat the proliferation of personal, beauty and skin care products containing dangerous ingredients. Probably the most well-known of these is the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

Sensitive skin care usually involves switching from products that you may be using now that contain ingredients that may act as irritants to your skin to skin care products and other personal and beauty care products, and cosmetics, which contain naturally occurring, known safe and effective ingredients. There are many anti aging products for sensitive skin and cosmetics for sensitive skin that work extremely well for anti aging skin care and beauty and which do not cause allergic reactions to the skin.

One range of natural anti aging skin care products, which we consider to be the best skin care products in existence, do not even offer a range of sensitive skin care products. This is because their entire range of anti aging products are made up of ingredients that are safe to use and which do not cause allergic skin reactions in any users. In effect all their products are sensitive skin care products because anyone can use them safely, including those who are most at risk of an allergic skin reaction.

There is a wide range of naturally occurring plant oils and various extracts that work exceptionally well as skin moisturizers and work in many other ways to promote optimum skin health, all of which are entirely safe for the skin and which do not produce an allergic reaction for any skin type.

Lets look at some of the ingredients that are using these products and see why they are not likely to cause a skin reaction.

Cynergy TK is a new patented ingredient used only in the best skin care products and is in effect the best “secret ingredient” that you can get in top quality skin care products. It is made from the oils sourced from the wool of sheep.

Keratin is a protein found right through your body and also in your skin and is most important to skin health. Cynergy TK contains a form of keratin that is extracted from the oils from the wool of sheep. Most mainstream skin care products that contain keratin contain a form of keratin that is extracted from the horns and hooves and feathers of animals and birds by a process using high temperature and chemicals. The results of this is that the molecular form of the keratin is changed and is not useful to the skin.

These products also contain extracts of Phytessence Wakame. Phytessence Wakame is a seaweed found around the coast of Japan which is packed full of essential vitamins and minerals all of which are very important skin health. It is no coincidence that Japanese women eat a large amount of Phytessence Wakame in their diet and also have the worlds best skin.

These products also use a range of naturally occurring oils such as Jojoba oil from the Jojoba nut, Babassu oil and Olive oil. All of these are quite safe your skin and excellent natural moisturizers.

The worlds best sensitive skin products use these ingredients and many more to produce a product that will not produce a sensitive skin reaction and which work extremely well at combating wrinkles and improving skin health.

Now lets look at some of the ingredients found in mainstream big name skin care products that may well be causing sensitive skin problems.

Mineral oil. Mineral oil is a petrochemical byproduct is used as a moisturizer in many products. It comes from crude oil and is extremely cheap, which is why it’s used. Mineral oil is not good to your skin and can cause psoriasis and acne.

Parabens. Parabens are a class of chemical preservatives that are used in many mainstream in care products, cosmetics, personal and body care products. Many people are now becoming aware of the importance of buying parabens free products because of the effects that these chemicals may have on your skin.

According to the cosmetic safety database parabens are linked to skin allergies and immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption and neurotoxicity just to name a few.

Fragrances. Although it seems nice to have a wonderful smelling product most of the effect of fragrances is produced by the use of chemicals. Fragrances are just nice smelling chemicals. The best skin care products have no fragrances at all. According to the cosmetic safety database fragrances are also linked to allergies and immunotoxicity and more.

We hope you’re beginning to see the point. Most cases of sensitive skin are simply a matter of skin reactions to the ingredients used in mainstream skin products. Whether it’s your soaps, your shampoos, or cosmetics or deodorants or skin care products or other personal and beauty care products, most contain ingredients which are irritants to the skin of some people.

If it’s you that has sensitive skin problems you need to avoid mainstream products and select natural skin care products and cosmetics and other beauty products that do not contain chemical ingredients that contain non chemical naturally occurring effective ingredients.

The very best natural skin care products and the best natural cosmetics are safe to use on all skin types and they will not produce allergic reactions.

We write this article from a particular personal focus. The authors daughter has had direct experience of the problems discussed here. At the age of 8 she was due to perform her 1st Ballet concert. A short while after her 1st contact with cosmetics her face broke out in a terrible rash.

It was this that prompted the author to start researching the problems with mainstream big brand personal products. What he found was a revelation and has led to this website, dedicated to exposing problems with modern mainstream products and pointing people towards natural alternatives that are safe to use and more effective. Read the rest of this entry